Window-ventilator.



H. W. GADDESS WINDOW VENTILATOR.v

APPLICATION FILED ms. 23. 191.1.

Patented Aug. 7, 1917.

LQ36J57,

new erar HARRY W. GAIDDESS, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

WINDOW-VENTILATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 7, 1917.

Application filed February 23, 1917. Serial No. 150,298.

To all'wltom itmay concern:

Be it known that I, HARRYNW. -GADDESS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore city, in the State ,of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in window Ventilators, of which the followin is a specification.

This invention re ates to a ventilator to be applied within the window-frame or other wall-opening of any structure.

The invention is illustrated in the drawing annexed hereto, in which the ventilator is shown applied in the opening of a window at the top.

Figure 1, is a vertical section of the ventilator device, the box of which, in this instance isshown located within the top part of the window-frame and the pivoted slats are open to their greatest extent.

Fig. 2, is a vertical cross-section of the box in which the slats are open only to an intermediate position.

Fig. 3, is a vertical cross-section of the box in which the slats are entirely closed.

Fig. 4:, is a vertical cross-section on the line 1% of Fig. 6.

Fig. 5, is a vertical broad-side view of the ventilator box showing the side that is exposed in the room to be ventilated, and in which the box rear wall at the center is partly broken away to expose the interior.

Fig. 6, is a horizontal longitudinal section on the line 66 of Fig. 5-.

Fig. 7, is a horizontal section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 2, of the device to hold the vertical shaft, 27, from moving.

Fig. 8, is a plan view of part of the bottom of the ventilator box indicating two positions of slat-holding arms.

What is termed the box, is the shell or inclosure that contains the movable parts. This box may be of any shape but in the. present instance is rectangular, and may have position partly within the windowframe at the top part, as shown in Fig. 1, or the ventilator box may be at the bottom of the window-frame where it can rest on the window-sill, while the bottom rail of a partly-raised sash contacts with the box. The length of the box should or preferably may be such as will fit between the two upright sides of the window frame.

The box may be made of wood, sheetmetal or other material and has a bottom, 8, and a top, 9. A broad-side front wall, 10, is provided at its center with a single opening, 11, of any preferred shape over which is a wlre screen, 12, having suitable mesh to exclude files, mosquitos and light trash that may be in the air, from entering the box, but to freely permit the passage of air from the exterior into the box, and the room, and reversely from the room and box through said opening, 11, to the exterior atmosphere. The box has two end walls, and a rear wall, 13, has a plural number of air openings, 14, (in the present instance four). These openings may be of any shape, such as rectangular. Each of these four openings has a four-sided rectangular frame, 15, which fits into the opening with its four sides projecting inwardly into the space of said box as seen in Figs. 1 and 6; on the exterior surface of the rear wall, 13, the edges of said frames, 15, are flush with said exterior surface. The construction of four-sided frames projecting inward forms within the box recessed spaces, 16, around the sides of said frames. There are no other openings through the rear wall, 13.

The front wall, 10, with its center opening, 11, has a four-sided frame of which the top is designated, 18, the sides, 19, and the bottom, 17, that surround said center opening, 11, and the four sides of this frame extend inwardly into the space of the box, see Figs. 2 and 6, but on the exterior of the box said sides are flush with the surface of the wall 10; the bottom, 17, is horizontal from end to end, but in the cross-wise direction this bottom inclines laterally and downwardly toward the exterior front of the box; the top, 18, is horizontal, and the two side walls, 19, are vertical; the width measurement between said two sides, 19, is less than the width measurement between the two vertical sides, 20, of the two frames, 15, that project inwardly into the box from the opposite rear wall, 13.

Two horizontally-pivoted slats 21,are positioned within the frame of the front center opening, 11. In Figs. 1, 5, and 6, the slats, 21, are tilted to their greatest extent to the fully open position; in Fig. 3, the fiat sides of thetwo slats are in the vertical or entirely closed position, while in Fig. 2 the slats are tilted open only to an intermediate position.

Each slat at its two ends has a pivot-pin, 22, which sets in a suitable bearing, 23, fixed on the said side walls, 19, of the four-sided frame around the center opening, 11. A

Fig. 2, according to the position of arms 31 and 41 on the shaft, 27. A stop-pin, is fixed to each side wall, 19, and proJects laterally and serves as a stop-device against .which a pivoted slat, 21, will strike when the slat tilts to the fully open position, as in Figs. 1 and 6. Each stud-pin or stopdevice has a sleeve of india rubber which serves as a cushion when the flat side of the pivoted slat, 21, contacts therewith; this rubber sleeve on the stop-pin, 25, prevents any clicking noise that might otherwise occur every time the vibrating slat strikes said stop-pin As said slats are very freely and adjustably balanced, they will tilt with nearly every variation of air-pressure or air-movement 0n the outside.

Should the wind be gusty, although blowing in a direction that will tend to keep the slats most of the time closed, as in Fig. 3, the vibrating operation of the slats may be temporarily suspended by recourse to the knob, or hand-grasp device 26, and vertical shaft, 27. This shaft has its top-end in a socket, 28, while the lower part passes through a hole in the bottom, 8, of the box and below the bottom the shaft has said grasp device or knob, 26. The shaft has a slight endwise up-and-down movement, and also a part turning movement. A spiral spring, 29, around the shaft has its upper end pressing upward against-a collar, 30, fixed 0n the shaft. The shaft carries four laterally-projecting arms, two of which, 31, are so positioned as to take against the back of the two pivoted slats, 21, and hold the slats to either their intermediate or entirelyclosed position, as in Figs. 2 and 3. The

other two arms, 41, on said shaft 27 are so positioned as to permit them to take against the front of the slats, 21, when the latter have the fully open position, as in Fig. 1, and thereby hold the slats open whenever desired. In the present instance the two arms, 41, are permitted to swing in a horizontal plane and take against the slat fronts by the slots, 43, formed in the vertical side, 19. The lower end of said verticel shaft, 27', below the bottom, 8, of the box extends freely through a circular plate, 32, secured to said bottom by screws, 36, see Fig. 7. Said plate has four holes, 37. 38, 39, and 40 which are concentric with the center hole through which the vertical shaft, 27,

passes. The knob, 26, on the shaft, 27, has a fiat side that contacts with said plate, 32, and is provided witha projecting short stud-pin, 1-2, which is adapted to enter one or the other of said four concentric holes. The stud-pin, by thus entering a hole prevents the shaft from turning or partly turning. lVhen the projecting arms, 31, bear on the back of the slats, 21, as in Fig. 3, the slats are closed and all tilting movement of the slats is suspended. \V hen the slats are fully open the stud-pin on the knob, 26, or other hand-grasp device, will be in the hole, 37, and then the slats are free to move and neither the shaft nor the arms, 31, and 11, can affect the vibrating action of the slats. hen the slats are in the intermediate tilted position, seen in Fig. 2, the stud-pin will occupy the hole, 38; when the slats are in the entirelyclosed position, the stud-pin will occupy the hole, 39, and when it is desired to lock the slats in a wide open position the stud will be engaged with the hole, 40.

In the present instance the rear wall, 13, serves as a diverter for air that enters the box at the front opening, 11.

The operation of this ventilator is as follows: \Vhere the box is to be placed in a window-opening either at the top or at the bottom, the box should be suitably secured to its position. If at the top of the window, the box should be arranged relative to the sash as shown in Fig. 1, the box being on the inner or room-side of the sash, so that the top cross-rail, H, of the sash may be raised to its fullest extent past the front wall, 10, of the box, and thereby the glass in the sash will cover the wire-screened opening, 11, that is in said front wall. When the sash is thus fully raised and covers said front opening, 11, the ventilator will be inoperative; but when the window sash 44 is drawn down from the top far enough to uncover said front opening, 11, then the ventilator will be operative.

If the ventilator box, is to be placed at the bottom of the window-frame, it may rest upon the sill of said frame, and the bottom cross-rail of the sash may either contact with the top of the box, so the ventilator can operate, or the bottom rail of the sash may move downward past the front wall, 10, and said bottom rail rest on the windowsill, in this last described position the ventilator would be entirely cut-out and be inoperative.

When the ventilator boxv is to be placed at the bottom of a window-frame, it may.

be more convenient for the manual operation of the knob 26 if the position of the circular plate, 32, and the knob, 26, on the vertical shaft, be changed from the bottom of the box to the top.

When the pivoted slats, 21, are open, as

in F ig. 1, and the slats are not locked open, very moderate movements of the currents of exterior air will pass between the two open slats without tilting them; all drafts of air that enter the box at the front opening, 11, will strike the back wall, 13, and thereby be diverted in the box to the righthand or the left-hand or both ways and then. pass through the openings, 14, in the rear wall, 13, into the room.

The finely-adjusted balance of the slats, 21, due to the screw-threaded Weights, enables the slats when not held by the arms 31, or 41, to automatically open or close by very moderate movements of air, which will either admit fresh air from the outside through the opening 11, into the room, or

permit the used air or smoky air of a room to find egress and escape by way of the opening 11, to the outer atmosphere.

It will be understood that various minor changes in the shape, the form and the construction of the parts of this ventilator are admissible without avoiding my claims to the invention. Two slat-s are shown, but it is obvious a greater number may be used.

Having described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is,-

l. A ventilator applicable to a windowframe or other wall opening, consisting of a box having a front Wall provided with an opening; horizontal slats pivoted at their ends within said opening; a movable shaft extending through the said box and provided with a hand-grasp device exposed on &

the exterior of the box and also provided with a stud-pin; a plate secured rigidly to the box and having a plurality of holes into either one of which the said stud-pin may be engaged by a movement of the shaft; arms within the box and carried by said movable shaft and adapted to contact with said pivoted slats and hold them as may be desired to either one of three positions,- the fully-open position, the entirely closed position, and to a position intermediate of said fully open and entirely closed positions at which latter position said slats will have a limited freedom of movement.

2. A ventilator for window-openings of houses, consisting of a box whose rear wall which is to be exposed within a house that is to be ventilated is provided with a closed center portion and said rear wall at opposite sides of said closed center portion having air-openings each of which has a frame surrounding the opening and projecting inwardly into the box-chamber and forming therein recessed spaces 16; a front box-wall provided with one opening 11, which is directly opposite said closed center portion of the rear wall; a valve mounted in said opening of the front wall said valve being opened and closed by the pressure of varying drafts of atmosphere.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

HARRY WV. GADDESS "Witnesses:

VERNON F. KELLY, CHAS. B. MANN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

